Otaku3658

This manga is, by far, the best I have ever read out of many. An amazing manga, a great show. The anime, however, is not what I am going to cover in this review. TL;DR at bottom if you wish to skip any possible spoilers.

Based on what I have seen, no reader has ever regretted reading it. It is a story of 2 children descending into the Abyss, more or less for reasons of their own, but share a common goal - to learn as much about this Abyss as they can, learn of how they came to be, and find their origins. For Riko, this is through finding her mother, who is supposedly at the bottom of this hole. For Reg, I am not sure. He hopes to regain some memories, and learn more about himself by descending.

It was the art that first had me hooked. Akihito Tsukushi is an amazing artist, and this manga is probably the best example of it.

Story: 10

Made in Abyss has so much to offer in the story. Throughout the orphanage, down to the Golden City, I have never been bored by this story. The easier times, more stressful times, and emotional times all kept me hooked. I love each and every page, none being wasted for filler. It is not only the descent of Reg, Riko, and Nanachi that is a reason for the story receiving a 10. The amount of lore and small details that can be learned is amazing. Relics, stories of delvers, and the layers add another layer of storytelling that I haven't seen in too many manga. The relics, other delvers, and the characters seen throughout all add depth.

Art: 9

The art. Also one of, if not the best art I have seen. Every single panel is a joy to look at, and some panels I have spent 5 or more minutes looking at. The landscaping is beautiful, and the amount of landscape panels makes reading this even more worth it. The character design is also very good, and I like how it somewhat strays from normal drawing. The art does lose a single mark, though. The reason I took a mark of is because some panels are a bit hard to understand what is really going on, mostly with landscape panels. After looking at the panel for a few extra seconds, I can see the layout, and why it was designed the way that it is, but some are a bit messy. The art alone is enough reason to read this.

Character: 8

Some of the character growth is hard to see, but the characters do improve after descending and meeting new characters. I mostly see this is Reg, how he grows from the Orphanage to Nanachi. During the time he spends with Nanachi, he seems to learn more of the Abyss. I think Reg is growing more than Riko, at least by what I see. The characters are done very well. A good example of this is Ozen. It is hard to describe why. She almost has this aura around her. I am very excited to see how more characters might get introduced, and how current ones will change.

Enjoyment: 10

As I said in the story section, this manga never failed to excite me. Every page wanted me to see, more and more, what happens next. Even during the hardest of times, the stress I felt pulled me in. I feel like in any action/adventure anime or manga, if I don't feel stressed, I'm not getting any enjoyment. This rule doesn't apply to slice of life, of course.

Overall: 9.7

I love this manga. Not much more I can say than that. Something about the feeling of the Abyss makes it all that more amazing. This manga is filled with emotion, expressed very well by the art and characters. It is beautiful, both in story and art. I would recommend this to anyone, whether they have read manga before, or haven't even considered it. It is a great read, great watch, and should be on everybody's list.

TL;DR: 9.7

The story and the art are amazing. It will rarely, if ever, make you bored. It is worth every minute you spend reading, and I would recommend if you haven't read it, to do so. It is the manga that has never left my memory, and I doubt it will. Some scenes do have to do with children suffering and gore, so beware.

Author's note*

This is my first review ever. I think this is a good manga to leave my first review on, and I tried my best. I may not be the best writer, but I tried to get my feelings of this manga across as well as possible!

If I could make any improvements, I will be sure to make them in my next review, whatever manga or anime that may be. I may also edit this review later on, after more chapters get released.

Attack on titan is in my opinion, one of the greatest pieces of fiction ever written.

ART STYLE - 9

First, the art style. The art style plays a pretty big part in whether a manga is generally enjoyable. Ill say that at the beginning of the manga, the art isnt "excellent", but its definitely improved over time. At this point in the manga, the art is really good, and is what youd expect from a masterpiece. However, its no miura, so dont expect grand pieces of art for every frame.

STORY - 10

The story of attack on titan is second to none. The plot has developed immensely, while still keeping true to the original themes of the series. The story of the anime has always been unique and extravagant, but the way it has progressed now - to the final arc shows that the story is one of epic proportions. Attack on titan is more than a good guy vs bad guy shounen, and has complex social commentary, liminal space, casual loops, political schemes, social conflict and institutionalized racism and prejudice. - yeah bro, this shit is deep.

The premise, world building and tone are also phenomenal from a manga perspective. Its not generic, and follows a premise where the population of the world isnt sure about its true nature, allowing for so much freedom through the storytelling, which the creators definitely take advantage of. No one is safe and theres no plot armor, where even important characters are not safe from getting brutally slaughtered, they all follow the same rules of survival. if those are broken, well, youre fucked. it doesnt matter if youre the MC or a background character.

A victory for the protagonists might not even feel like a victory, as the series pushes you to consider right and wrong, and your perspective on morality. the viewer and the cast are left wondering what they’re fighting for, and at what cost. Who built the walls? Where did the titans come from? Why are the last remaining humans even in walls? Why is the government so shady, and of course, what’s in the basement? Attack on titan has delivered some of the best written surprises I have ever witnessed. The manga is literally so well thought through and written, that very specific events that happen in later parts of the manga are hinted to in the first parts.

Theres no fanservice, and no typical anime/manga tropes. While this is not objectively a bad thing, but the concept of fanservice doesn’t fit into the dramatic and extreme premise of attack on titan, where it might fit into more non-serious manga or anime like love or high school stories. This might turn some readers off, but i expect this to be a major + for most casual readers. Attack on titan is void of oversexualization, like the token girl with unnaturally large breasts, nor does it have the token perverted characters, characters overreacting and sloppy humor. Its very clear that the world of attack on titan feature no gender roles, as women and men both fight against the titans, where the males and females are equally badass. No one gender is shown to be any less or more capable than the other. The lack of tropes is something i especially appreciate as i have literally never enjoyed this in any other manga or anime and is my main gripe with franchises like FMAB, Haikyuu and Fire force.

CHARACTERS - 10

The wide cast of characters in attack on titan is fantastic, giving all characters a distinctive personality, not reliant of typical traits seen in most anime and even other series. All the characters feel real, everyone is complex and dynamic. Sure, the main character has a sad backstory, but almost every other character has a unique backstory of their own, making them not feel empty or hard to sympathize with. These backstories might be equally or even sadder, brutal and more impactful than that of erens. Armin is a smart problem solver, Mikasa has amazing physical capabilities, Erwin is a fantastic leader, jean has moments of brilliance, eren has… powers, and levi is a masterful warrior. Despite this, you don’t see levi or Mikasa swiping in to save the day singlehandedly, victory only comes from teamwork, from both the protagonists and the antagonists side. Mikasa isn’t invincible in battle, jean isn’t the typical douchebag shown in the show, Armin might struggle solving problems and Erwin isn’t always as self-righteous as he seems.

The character dont act like typical manga characters where you either cringe into oblivion from anything they say, or point out every other sentence as something NO ONE WOULD EVER SAY, because of bad writing. They talk like humans, act like humans, and face consequences like humans. The protagonist eren isn't safe from people either mocking him for his heroic personality either. The character development in the latter parts of the manga is fucking amazing, not only for the main protagonist, which im sure everyone knows because of the obnoxious fans who shout "duuude you have no idea bro eren is such a badass in season 4", but also for the other characters in the cast.

Also, the anime does a fantastic job of adapting the manga, but you already know that.

Dr. Kiriko: White Death (Shiroi Shinigami) is the story of Black Jack's rival, Dr. Kiriko Joryjyuu as a doctor who does euthanasia. A very interesting concept that leads to different moral problems and quite realistic in real life (with a fantastic touch and sometimes even reassuring) Many chapters are stand alone stories, but as you proceed, you can understand why of his actions. If you are a fan of Black Jack, you will find that this character is more complex and similar to the renowned surgeon and that he really needs more merit as a doctor or as a character in the Tezuka universe. I already mentioned about the stories, but also the main stories have plot twist and remakes of two Black Jack chapters (related with Kiriko) sanorin drawing is wonderful: the expressions, the details, the bodies, the animals, etc. It's a nice drawing, even the backgrounds looks fine. Each character has their motivation "to kill" someone and you can easily hate them or they can make you cry, because it's painfully true. I love this manga, Kiriko totally deserved an own story. I really wish this manga has an English or Spanish licenced because it deserves it. I've read raws for two years (only 22 chapters), but only today I found an English translation of chapter one...

The book cover doesn't do justice to the book at all. I kind of rejected it when it was first recommended because it looked aged and boring. Even with the brief summary given, I wasn't too impressed.

Suprisingly, the development of the story is good. It's doesn't just dive straight into the love story like how most shoujo would go. Instead it concentrates on friendship (so far into 3rd volume).

The story is heartwarming, touching and somehow makes me want to read on.

Usually i would skip pages to get to the juicy part but with this manga, the opposite happened. i didn't want to miss out anything! It's like i have to read between the lines/expression/body language of the charaters to get what is the hidden message/meaning!

The art work may not look impressive but if you look carefully, it's quite well drawn. Also, my friend who recommended it said that with each volume (as they age) you can see how the characters grow up (literally).

I'm suprised it's not even in the manga data base. This is something that people shouldn't miss out on.

One of the Most messed up stories I read so far. As I read chapter after chapter emotions of the characters are transmitted to reader in waves. Some bad, some bitter, some happy but why... I can't see happy ending(I read half of it). It's so weird. at times I like one character next other then I hate every single one. It's so messed up, that you will like it. Hahahaa... my poor mind... I hate you Author, but at the same time love your work. You know how to play with emotions. If I ever see you I will shake your hand and then hit you. I pray that my love will never be like that I would die several times. Christ...

Yaoi and Shounen Ai have gained a negative stigma in the anime/manga world. With such rabid fans of the genres, people expect super erotic boy on boy action when they hear those terms. However, not all of them are like that. This manga is an example of that.

The main character is pretty endearing, and the other main male is likeable as well. Their relationship (which is barely anything more than close friends) is pleasant as well. As with most short manga/one shots, the side characters don't get fleshed out.

The story is simple, but it is a charming little tale that will leave you feeling warm inside. There isn't romance, so if you are looking for that, then look elsewhere. It's basically a story of a spirit trying to find his friend.

The art is actually quite nice, with the character designs being pretty inspired, and some of the backgrounds being downright gorgeous. The artist strikes a good balance, and while the art isn't mind blowing, it is never bad.

I recommend this to anyone who likes pleasant stories, and tales of friendship. The shounen ai is so light it may as well not be there, and in its entirety the manga isn't even 50 pages long, so reading it would take you maybe 10 minutes. Definitely worth it.

The boss is just rather pushy to the female lead. I totally understand that she is craving for love because she was stood up on her wedding day but she’s letting her boss take advantage of her and not considering what she truly needs out of the relationship. I also felt the art was stiff as well like their emotions are pretty much crooked and dull enough to easily understand how they truly feel about each other.

Yeah this is just not my cup of tea folks which is disappointing folks. I honestly thought it was gonna be an underrated “office romance” gem but apparently not!

Haunted House follows sabato obiga, a typical high school student, with a not so typical family. Sabato's family has quite the obsession with death... In short, their Gothic. Very. Since this is a gag, or comedy manga, don't expect any heavy story. The art in Haunted House is very good. The characters are all unique and the development of the main character is nearly perfect. there is only one volume of Haunted House, and it makes you wish that there were more. overall, Haunted House is a very enjoyable manga that is highly recommended to fans of the gag comedy genre.

The demonic setting of Phantom Seer reminds one of many previous Shounen hits like Bleach, Demon Slayer or Jujutsu Kaisen, so maybe its not extremely original in this aspect. The story is quite decent but nothing overwhelming. That shouldnt stop you from reading this series because while it has some story weaknesses it still strongly supported by the humour of the characters and their interactions.

Iori the main protagonist is interesting in that sense that hes not quite motivated in being the hero, more the opposite at the beginning while other Shounen heroes are unrealisticly over enthusiastic everytime. Thats what I found relatable in him that he can be lazy sometimes like everyone of us. What I also like about him is that hes powerful at the start but not overpowered so he learned everything beforehand. His abilities that connect with phantoms and shadows and how he uses them is well executed in my opinion.

Aibetsu the other main character seemed one dimensional at the start but got more fleshed out as the time went on with some dark revelations concerning her powers. She doesnt have to be saved everytime and learns to fight for herself.
Also Yayoi, Ioris sister is an even stronger female character at the top of this world and thats what we need more of in the Jump magazine.

The art is beautifully made and it was a pleasure every time to look at while reading. Theres something in the way the lines are swung that fit so perfectly and I cant really describe it. The main villain design draws heavy inspiration from the spiderdemon from Demon Slayer which you will notice when you see it, but isnt a cheap knock off, he has different abilities.

Another really important aspect is the horror element with the horrifyingly drawn demons and faces which captures the atmosphere very well. There are also some quite disturbing scenes later that add to this shock factor.

Overall after reading its first 18 chapters I recommend this series, also because i forgot to mention, the worldbuilding was also not bad with the whole different shaman organisations and Ioris and his sisters backstory not fully uncovered there is quite some room to explore in the future.

Well, when I finished reading the manga, I knew I had to review. This is the first time I reviewed on a manga.

First things first, the main character is a total pessimist which offers something new. His thought process is kind of unique? I must say. He is the most pessimistic character I have met.

The side characters are a bit lacking in my opinion. Not much of a total development considering that there are only 20 chapters, but the main character has certainly grown.

The plot was quite interesting but I wished that it had shown quite more fight scenes especially the ending. I hoped that the plot has been fleshed out a bit more though.

Speaking of the finale, I was a bit disappointed. But, considering his personality, the ending makes sense. I'm stressing the fact that it could be a bit longer because that kind of plot has potential.

All in all, it was a nice read. Just hoping that it was a bit longer though because it has not explained some of the parts well.